Exodus 2:22 — And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.

I’ve had a difficult subject on my mind — Africa to Europe. South America to North America. Myanmar to Thailand. There’s a whole lot of migration going on. Huge populations are moving from poverty towards wealth, from hunger to feeding, from fear to security. Though the green grass the migrants are seeking often turns out to be a dry and dusty patch of earth the urge to move is irresistible. What should a Christian’s attitude be?
God’s people have always been on the move. Moses called his son Gershom. It’s not exactly clear Whether Gershom means “Stranger There” or “Stranger Is His Name” — but “Ger” is “stranger” or “sojourner”. Moses was a stranger in a strange land.

Abraham was a migrant. The Jews were taken from Israel to Babylon. Peter wrote to “the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,” (1 Peter 1:1)

Those already living in the countries that migrants are heading into are prone to resent them. In some ways it’s natural. Many “residents” were migrants themselves once and arrived “legally”. Then there’s a fear of economic consequences. Migrant populations can harbor, all unknowing, people with darker reasons to flee, or people with sinister intention. So what should a Christian do?

The Bible is very clear. Treat the migrant well — “ki ger hayitem be’EretzMizrayim” – “for you too were a stranger in the land of Egypt”. (Exodus 22:20). The thought occurs again and again. You can find it in all these verses:

— Exodus 23:9

— Leviticus 19:10

— Leviticus 19:33-34

— Deuteronomy 10:19

— Deuteronomy 23:8

— Deuteronomy 24:17-18

— Deuteronomy 27:19

Then there’s Jesus. He didn’t really address the issue, but he did say “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:” (Matthew 25:35). There’s that word stranger. It’s pretty clear Jesus cared about the outsiders and didn’t much care about the legalities. That’s not surprising to me because I don’t think His kingdom takes much note of earth?y boundaries, nor that He would recognize “illegals” as being in anything other than His Father’s image. What does all that mean for Christians?

It must, at the end, be a Christian’s position that all of our neighbors must be treated with love. Does that mean we should remove all boundaries, and all legal obstructions? I don’t think so — but perhaps we are called to rethink our view of a proper legal framework. I don’t profess to be clever enough to know what that might be, but I think we need to pray that our treatment of migrants doesn’t leave us among the goats and not the sheep!